The Green Bag
212
such a condition grew up,and received
where there is so large an increase of
this reply:
insanity, especially among the promi nent families, it is one of the most popular reasons for demanding
“We all recognize the
harshness of our present law, and when a man sues his wife for a divorce, if she is young and at all attractive, about
all that is necessary to establish his case is to prove that she has a gentle man friend, that they have exchanged a few letters, attended the theatre, or
reform. ' Insanity and prostitution, which flourish in communities where it is dilfi— cult or impossible to secure a release from an unendurable matrimonial alli
dined together. The jury presumes the rest and returns a verdict accordingly."
ance, are found to exist to an alarming
It is quite different, however, when a wife seeks a divorce from her hus
uous.
band——the charges must then be proven.
young men and women, especially among the poorer classes in the cities, are living together and rearing children, without
Of course, we have more legal causes for divorce in most of our states, but one is inclined to think that the
present situation in England is due largely to the paucity of legal grounds.
extent——the latter being very conspic These, however, are not the worst
results of the English system.
Many
going through the formality of a mar riage ceremony.
A conversation with
by the Divorce Law Reform Union,
these women is pathetic indeed, for it reveals the fact that they do love the fathers of their children and are true to them and are treated by them with
an organization which is receiving the
kindness, but are afraid to marry for
support of many liberal-minded people.
fear their happiness may end as soon as their husbands know that the women no
The agitation for new legislation is being fostered and directed in England
The chief aim of the reformers seems to be to secure the passage of an act which will enable husbands and wives
who are living apart under Separation Orders, or one of whom is undergoing a long term of penal servitude, or is incurably insane, to obtain, subject
to certain safeguards, a dissolution of their marriages. While the National Congress on Uniform Divorce Laws did not recommend that incurable
insanity should be a ground for divorce in this country, it, nevertheless, is one of the most reasonable, and in England, Moundsw'lle, W. Va.
longer have a right to leave them if
treated unkindly. This condition has been commented upon by many writers, and is well understood by religious workers. The practice seems to be in creasing. A similar condition exists in Jamaica, for a well-known author, who resided there for several years, told the
writer that he did not believe that more than three per cent of the natives were living in lawful wedlock, owing to the fact that it was expensive to get married and impossible to get divorced.
